Chapin Hosts Creative Connections
By E. Mendelsohn
On Monday, February 13, the four Chapin fine-arts departments hosted a NYSAIS conference entitled "Creative Connections: Learning from Arts Integration." The other schools that participated were Allen-Stevenson, Dutchess Day, Poly Prep Country Day, Rodeph Sholom, Soundview Preparatory and Tuxedo Park. The four fine arts department heads (Luc Hotaling, Duane Neil, Patricia Norchi and Sarah Rutledge) were the presenters and facilitators at the workshop.
The NYSAIS workshop encouraged participants to return to their schools with new ideas regarding collaboration between the arts and academic subjects. Sarah Rutledge explains, "We wanted to impart to participants that the lessons learned from a fine arts education can enhance the learning process and serve as a model for learning in any subject area. Such a way of teaching and designing lessons can also reach out to the many different learning styles that can co-exist in a classroom. We felt that we were able to host such a workshop because of the vested interest Chapin regularly demonstrates in the fine arts programs."
The arts form an integral part of a Chapin education. The four fine-arts departments (dance, drama, music and visual arts) function as a coordinated whole, with the overarching artistic education of each student in mind.In addition to the arts requirements contained in the curriculum through Class 8, the four departments have been involved in the creation and evolution of an interarts sequence that spans Classes 7, 8 and 9. This three-year course is unique to Chapin and serves as a model of interdisciplinary work among the arts and through two divisions. Chapin also has many academic teachers who regularly infuse the arts into their exisiting curricula.
The NYSAIS workshop offered an opportunity for the Chapin Fine Arts department heads to share their experience with faculty from other schools and also to explore further opportunities for learning from arts integration. |
